Public Affairs

Survey Finds Majority Support For Making LGBT Discrimination Illegal

Indiana Competes, a coalition of more than 350 Indiana Businesses that support the addition of equal protections in the civil rights code, released the survey results Tuesday.urlIndiana Competes, LGBT civil rights2016-01-06T00:00:00-05:00

INDIANAPOLIS – More than 60 percent of Hoosiers support making it illegal to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Indiana, according to a new survey.

Indiana Competes, a coalition of more than 350 Indiana Businesses that support the addition of equal protections in the civil rights code, released the survey results Tuesday. The group delivered letters to every member of the Indiana General Assembly asking lawmakers to amend the state’s civil rights code.

“It’s up to our legislators to take action to show the world that discrimination will not be tolerated in our state because our economic reputation is at stake,” said Doug Dayhoff, president of Upland Brewing, one of the businesses that are part of the Indiana Competes coalition. “It is currently legal to discriminate in Indiana, and that is wrong. We need our lawmakers to show leadership to make sure our economy is not damaged any further.

The topic of LGBT protections will remain center stage throughout the 2016 session. Multiple bills connected to the issue have been filed by both parties.

The poll, conducted by Bellweather Research, shows that in addition to the 62 percent of those surveyed who support making it illegal to discriminate against LGBT people in Indiana, 47 percent said they would be less likely to vote for a legislator if he or he voted against protecting LGBT people from discrimination.

Bellweather Research said the survey questioned 1,295 registered Indiana voters on behalf of Indiana Competes from Dec. 2 to Dec. 9. Among those surveyed, 50 percent were Republican including independents who lean Republican and 36 percent were Democrats including those who lean Democratic.

Nicole Hernandez is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.